


The Lives of the Fairy Folk

by Fir3Storm12



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Crack Ships are included, F/F, F/M, Gen, General fluff, I am terrible at humour, I really don't care though, M/M, Maybe I'll try angst, Multi, My spelling isn't perfect, Other, enjoy, i don't know what i'm doing anymore
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-21
Updated: 2018-11-23
Packaged: 2019-06-14 01:10:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,622
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15377397
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fir3Storm12/pseuds/Fir3Storm12
Summary: A selection of badly written one shots created by me, following the lives of our favourite Fairy Tail wizards. Some were originally posted on ff net, but I revamped them and published them here as well. Others will be created for the site (I hope anyway). Enjoy!





	1. Shot Through The Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Erza Scarlet- famed Magnolia detective and the best officer the town has to offer. But even the best have their secrets, a dark past that follows them. And for Erza, well, she just so happens to be linked to the most wanted criminal in all of the city...

She had been prepared. The whole thing had been planned right down to the last second. Every officer back in Magnolia had worked over time without even the slightest chance that they would succeed. It had been thought of as impossible, what they had set out to do in the first place. So how did she end up here, facing Magnolia's most dangerous criminal with a gun locked firmly in her hand? "Scared, Scarlet?" They glared mockingly at her, a patronising smirk etching it's way on their face.

"Scared of what? You? I think not." Erza Scarlet was a feared and talented officer. She loved her job and was known for always bringing in her suspects (usually with more than a few fresh bruises) without fail. This time wouldn't be any different. "Aw. And here I was thinking I'd get off with a slap on the wrist." They looked up at her, almost challengingly, "You wouldn't hurt me Erza. You were never able to hurt me." Those words. Oh how she wished they weren't true. But they were. He was the one that got away, the only one she was never able to catch. Or refused to. And he was right, she had never been able to hurt him before and she had always let him go- whether she wanted to or not. There was no way she could have caught him, at least not by herself. He was the reason she joined the force in the first place, but she would never tell him that.

He hadn't changed. In her mind, he was still the same boy that had helped her escape from a terrible fate all those years ago. Back then, he was kind hearted, caring and adventurous. They were the best of friends. But everything changed when he turned on her and their friends, choosing power over them. Over her. "I was never scared of you! Why should I be? Deep down, you're still the same person you were years ago. Nothing's changed!" she shouted almost desperately. It was almost as if she was trying to convince herself that what she was saying was true, eventhough she knew it wasn't. No. She wouldn't believe that it was wrong. Sure, she knew of all the horrible crimes he had committed. But maybe he had his reasons. "Oh Erza, always so forgiving. You always did try to find the good in everyone, didn't you?" They stepped closer to her and she felt her hand beginning to shake. What was this feeling? Was she... scared? That was something she hadn't felt in years, especially not around him. He saved her life after all. He was her hero. At least, he had been once upon a time.

Erza felt her breath hitch in her throat as he stepped closer, to the point where the gun was now pressed against the fabric of his shirt. Her arm had pulled back. Now it was bent. He was less than an arm's length away from her. "Come on, Erza." He leaned forward and whispered in her ear, "Take the shot." The trigger was just grazing the back of her finger. Just a little pressure and this would be over. She could leave. But he couldn't unless he was in a body bag. Was she willing to take that risk? It would mean she would lose him for good. So what, he was Magnolia's most dangerous criminal. A long time ago though, he was her friend and ally. A part of her believed that they could be like that again. And this part of her was deep within her and telling her to show him mercy. Her head was telling her to show him the justice he deserved, but her heart was telling her to let him go.

"Hehehehe." His low, menacing laugh tickled her ears and sent a thrill down her spine. She shivered and stepped back a slight bit, just enough to straighten her arm out again. The glare she sent him would have been intimidating had she not shown another emotion behind it. Apparently, he wasn't threatened by her. "Erza, we both know you haven't got it in you." He was serious now, with the corners of his mouth dropping into a tight line. "You always pretend to be the strong one, the one that everyone should fear. But really, you're still the same scared little girl that you were when I sacrificed MY FREEDOM so YOU could escape from that slave ring." His words made terrible memories flash through her mind, memories that she had tried so hard to suppress over the years, "Everyone thinks you're someone to be looked up to, someone to be admired. Their protector. But you're nothing!" The insults he was throwing at her were laced with venom, "You've never been any of those things. I mean, just look what happened to Simon-"

"SHUT UP!" She was trembling, both from her fear and her fury. The small river of tears that was flowing down her face was the only indication to the effects that his words were having on her. They were true. They were all true. But she didn't need him to tell her that. Her outburst seemed to have startled him, but not enough to make him back down. So she took a firmer grip on her gun and pointed it directly at him, her fingers gently squeezing the trigger. "For years, I regretted leaving you and the others behind. Of course I did! You were my friends, the closest thing I had to a family at that time. The only reason I ever joined the police force in the first plsce was to track you all down. And what do I find? You're all criminals. Everyone last one of you." She was now the one moving closer to him, preparing herself in case she had to do the thing she dreaded most, "Part of me hoped that I could track you all down and change your ways. I succeeded with the others. But you were always the loose cannon, weren't you. Always playing by your own rules." Erza was almost mimicking his speech to her, "And how dare you bring him up! Simon was twice the man that you'll ever be!"

"Do you really believe that?"

"Of course I do! Your nothing compared to him and you never will be!"

A heavy silence hung over them. Erza rubbed the trigger of the gun with her finger, making sure it was still there. The man across in front of her was just staring again, until he did the last thing she expected. He stepped forward and held the gun's nose to his heart. "Then do it." He was quiet, but his words were an almost emotionless whisper, "If that's really what you believe then take the shot and end all of this. I'm giving you a chance here. Are you going to take it or not?" Erza was staring defiantly up at him, but her hand was trembling again. She reluctantly lowered her gun and he stepped back, smirking in victory. What was the point in this? He was right. There was no way she could harm him. They've been through so much together in the past. It was her job to bring criminals to justice. He was the only one that she couldn't bring herself to do just that.

Would it always be like this? Would she always let him go? Maybe there could be a time in the future where they could lay all this to rest and move on with their lives. But as she looked at his figure retreating to the other end of the abandoned warehouse they were in, she realised that he was right about this being her only chance. There would never be another time where she would come this close to ending the suffering that he has caused. Now was her only chance and, she realised, the only way to end all of it was to end him. Here and now. "J-Jellal!" She cried out in an attempt to gain his attention. He turned to her, only to be met with the sight of her weapon pointing right at him. "Goodbye."

A loud bang ricocheted around the large, empty space followed by the sound of a body hitting the floor. Then everything was silent, except for the choked sobs that were slowly escaping the distraught red head that stood in the centre of the floor. It was over over. All of it. It was finally over. But at what price? He was dangerous sure, but he didn't deserve this. 'Too late no' she thought to herself bitterly. Memories of the times they had spent together flooded through her head. They were painful and right now, they made things worse. But she needed them. They would be her reminder of him, of the person he was before all of this. Because he would always be that person.

He was the one that gave her freedom, in return for steaing her heart.


	2. Knight in Shining Gym Wear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (A request I had a while back on my original fic)  
> She just wanted a nice, quiet stroll in the woods but apparently that was too much to ask for. But hey, she wasn't complaining when she stumbled across a certain requip mage training in the woods. Alone....
> 
> Male!ErzaXLucy

Today was supposed to be a normal day. She just wanted a normal, uneventful walk in the woods by herself, without having to worry about anything until she went back to the guildhall. But apparently, it seems the universe had different plans for her as she found herself hiding in the shadows of a large oak tree, watching a very...let's say unexpected scene unfold before her. Now Magnolia was a fairly large place so it wasn't uncommon to turn a corner and be greeted by someone else, but Lucy certainly did not expect to come face to face with the frighteningly sharp blade of a long, metal weapon jutting out of a tree just inches away from her nose. If she had been there a few seconds earlier, she probably would have been pinned up by the neck. So thank God for her snail like pace! Still though, her curiosity had gotten the better of her and she couldn't resist following the trail of destruction that weapon had cut through the leafy undergrowth. And let's just say the sight that greeted her was a surprise, but a rather pleasant one according the voice in the back of her head that made her want to slam her skull against the bark of the tree. Said tree hid enough of her body in its shadow that the figure she was watching did not appear to have noticed her and if they had, they hadn't said anything. She was determined to keep it that way. No one needed to know what she was doing. Any other day she would have laughed at other women who did this, but today was a different story. Could you blame her though? In front of her was a sight she guessed not many had really witnessed before, mainly because he's all the way out here.

Erza Scarlet dressed in what was probably the most revealing armour she'd seen him in in recent weeks.

And on top of that, he was 'training' under the burning heat of the sun, meaning the very thin black shirt he had on was beginning to stick. Now let's make one thing clear, Lucy would admit that she had ogled guys before. Sure she had. But this was different, he was her friend. Yes he was obviously attractive, but she had never really taken notice of that. Not really. It just seemed so shallow to find someone attractive purely based on their appearance. Yet she was really, really, struggling to obey her own rules. Then again, it was kinda his fault as well. I mean, what he was wearing was ridiculous. Erza was known for wearing revealing clothing at times but this, this was ridiculous!

His small black tank top barely covered his stomach and she wasn't sure if it went past his shoulders or not because of the armour covering the upper part of his torso. The armour appeared to be thin and light, not reaching his stomach either, and everytime he moved she honestly thought his shirt would rip simply because of how tight it was. She couldn't see his trousers, most of his upper thigh was covered with thin knee-pads, but if his shirt was anything to go by then she guessed the small piece of fabric she could see was from shorts, probably also too short to be deemed sociably acceptable. He had a sword strapped around his back and she saw a helmet resting on a rock some way away from the both of them. But what really got her was how his short red hair was sticking up everywhere, as if he'd ran his hand through it and just left it there. God she was going to be in so much trouble for this if he turned around. But thankfully, he didn't and she returned to her spying, I mean admiring, from the shadows. She did feel guilty though, after all she'd never really seen him as attractive before. Actually, that's a lie. She knew he was a fairly good looking person, anyone could see that, but the small crush she had when she first joined the guild had long since disappeared. Now though was the first time she'd see him in this light and she was beginning to think herself as being a bit of a hypocrite.

Oh well, she was here now and completely by accident. But the sun really wasn't helping as she saw the sweat beginning to drip down his features and outline them. He threw a sword at a crudely painted target on a tree, suggesting he'd been her before, and it hit with a nice, clean thud. Erza left it there whilst he used another sword to go to work on a stack of bottles that he had lined up earlier. The first one shattered with a swift flick of the blade, with the others quickly following suite as he once again slashed the word in their direction. Lucy couldn't help the awe struck look on her face at his sharp yet somehow graceful movements. She watched him a little while longer, biting her lip every now and then to stop herself making a noise that would give away her position. This was so creepy but she couldn't help herself. And then finally, it seemed the blistering heat became too much for even the great Erza Scarlet to handle as he finally stopped stabbing his sword at the poor trees and slumped onto a large boulder with a sigh, taking a long drink from a water bottle he had picked up from the ground. His back was towards Lucy and she was almost disappointed, but this quickly changed when he began to undo the straps on his armour and lifted it off his torso. Lucy felt her breath hitch her throat and she was sure for a second that he had heard her. He hadn't and after a slight pause, lifted his shirt up over his head and draped it over the armour that lay on the floor.

So now, in front of one very flustered celestial mage, there was a half naked, sweat drenched, muscular soldier of a man barely ten feet away from her, stretching, who was blissfully unaware of her rather stalkerish presence. Oh God, she was spending too much time with Juvia. Lucy had to use every ounce of willpower she had to not turn into a blubbering, flustered mess as he turned around and she caught a glimpse of his face before he once again ran a hand through his hair, shifting the red locks in all different directions, and ripping his sword from the target it had been embedded into. She unfortunately let out a rather loud sigh of obvious infatuation as she leaned against the tree. Immediately, she regretted it. Erza's head snapped up and began scanning the circle of trees around him, holding his sword up in a manner that stated he was ready to attack. Lucy stepped backwards and onto a stray twig, snapping it in the process. The red head's gaze fell on the tree she had been hiding behind and he cautiously stepped towards it, "Who's there? Show yourself!" Too late.

Lucy was out of there like a shot the moment he had began looking in her direction. She had never ran so fast in her life but she wasn't going to stop, fearing he had caught her or thought she was some stranger spying on him and he was now chasing her. The blonde did not want to risk it and she continued speeding towards the guild, heart pounding and lungs aching. You couldn't have just left, could you? Leave him alone? Ever thought of that? Nooooo! God this is so embarrassing.

Two and a half hours. That was how long she'd been brooding at the bar, emitting a cloud of shame and fear as she slumped over her drink. She'd never been so humiliated in her life and she'd only recently managed to get the others to stop questioning her about her red faced, stuttering, panicked state when she came crashing through the guild doors. And now, when she had finally calmed down and had gotten her heartbeat to an appropriate, safe level were it didn't feel as if would leap out if her rib cage, the very person who was the cause of her frustrations just had to come strolling through the doors. At first, she had stiffened until she was able to remind herself to calm down and she eventually joined the others at their table after they had beckoned her over. Lucy was slightly disappointed to see he was in his regular armour again, the one that actually covered all of his chest, arms and legs, and left nothing on show. It was a change from what she'd seen in the forest but then again, he wouldn't have came into the guild in that anyway. Even Erza had standards despite some of things he'd worn and even read in the past. It sends a shudder up the spine just at the thought of it.

Somehow, the red head ended up sitting diagonally across from her but he didn't seem to pay her a lot of attention for most of the night, which greatly relieved Lucy. She knew that if he looked over at her, even just once, then he would surely see the blush staining her cheeks at the memory of earlier in the day. So she kept her head down and just listened in to the conversations at the table, praying no one tried to include her yet.

"So Erza, where'd you go earlier? You've been gone all morning." Gray asked him after his latest spat with Natsu was stopped.

"Nowhere important, just training." Erza stated whilst sharpening the blade of his sword, "Nothing new."

"You're always training." Natsu whined from beside Lucy as he slumped on the table, "But there's no point. You're already S-class."

"It never hurts to refine your skills every once in a while, Natsu. You never know when someone could be lurking in the shadows." Lucy felt as if the last part was directed at her and she was sure Erza's gaze momentarily flicked her way when the others weren't looking. But she couldn't be sure as when she looked back up at him, his focus was fixed in sharpening the sword in his hand. Her nerves were on edge for the rest of the night and it was pretty obvious to everyone but her companions it seemed. They didn't seem to care, or if they did they didn't say anything, and eventually the guild and her friends spiralled into their usual, evening chaos. Another brawl broke out in the centre, with chairs, tables, mugs and the like soaring through the air and crashing to the walls. It meant that eventually it was just Erza and Lucy sat at the table. Together. Alone.

She wanted to leave, to just go back to the bar or stalk off to her apartment and bury herself under her duvet, but for some reason she felt compelled to stay. But the tension that she was emitting must have been obvious because Erza seemed to pick up on it as he placed the sword he'd been sharpening on the table and sat up straight to look at her. "Is everything ok?"

"Oh, y-yeah. Great. Wonderful! Just peachy!" She stuttered out, forcing an awkward smile.

Erza raised a sceptical eyebrow, "Lucy...you better not be lying to me."

"I-I'm not! I swear!" Eventhough she knew he would never hurt her, Lucy was not afraid to admit that there were still times when Erza scared/intimidated her. T=He always intimidates people at one point or another, sometimes on purpose.

"Whatever you say Lucy." The smirk on his face was infuriatingly smug but Lucy was able to keep her emotions from bubbling up to the surface, "Hey, you wanna know what happened to me today?"

"S-sure." The question was rather unexpected and she was dreading what he would say. Better to get it over and done with now rather than later.

"Well, I was training in the forest. And let me tell you, the sun was unforgiving. I guess it scared my little audience away to." Lucy couldn't stop her eyes widening as he said this. What made it worse was when he leaned across the table to look at her, "Maybe next time they'll stay."

"O-oh I don't know-"

"Perhaps you'd like to join me next time?"

She nearly choked. Seriously? Did he know it was her? Obviously. What a stupid question to ask. He wouldn't be asking if he didn't know. "Excuse me?"

"Well, your battle skills could use a bit of fine tuning-"

"Oh right, because that's totally a nice thing to say to someone-"

"-AND if you would let me finish, I don't appreciate people spying on me in the bushes." See. Of course he knew. Idiot. She should've guessed. The question was, what exactly gave her away? "How did you know it was me? I'm not saying it was but theoretically-"

"You dropped your keys." Erza held up her keyring with her celestial spirit keys dangling lamely in the air, "Maybe next time be a little bit more careful before you go sprinting off. You could have been hurt." He slid the keys across to her before getting up, "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go and break this up before it spills out of the guildhall again." And with that, he began walking off, leaving a very flustered, confused and embarrassed Lucy alone at the table, "Oh and Lucy," He turned, "Next time feel free to join me. Maybe then you won't have to ogle me in my training gear from afar."

_Oh Mavis, kill me now!_


	3. Welcome To The Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Gray Fulbuster finally gives into the romantic advances of one blue haired woman, he unfortunately gets more than he bargained for when he unexpectedly comes face to face with her more.....eccentric family and friends.- Modern au.

Most people would think twice before entertaining the person who many have claimed to be their stalker, but not Gray. He'd been able to avoid the advances of a certain bluenette for years but finally, after having lost the last bit of will power he had, he gave in. Three years it had taken her! Three years to break him and to her, it was all worth the wait.

Strangely enough, she hadn't been the one to make the move this time. Actually, in the past few months, she'd been backing off. She wasn't as "crazy" as she she used to be, or so her friends had kindly told her. Like they needed to tell her anyway. She knew. She'd done it on purpose after she'd realised he didn't like it. And it worked! They'd gotten closer over the last couple of months and he was almost forced to admit recently that maybe there was something beneath his cold exterior, maybe he did have a soft spot for her that he'd previously hidden. Oh how she had revelled in that moment!

But for him, it was awkward as all hell.

There were better places to ask someone on a date then the school cafeteria but apparently, he wasn't going to be granted with such luxuries, and he found himself accidentally asking her out in front of the whole school. Oh he was an idiot. But apparently, she didn't care at all considering she practically dived on him afterwards, tackling him onto the dirty tiles of lunchroom floor in front of everyone. Some cheered, some laughed and he's pretty sure he heard someone mutter "It's about damn time", but all he wanted was for the ground to open up and drag him down to the deepest parts of Hell. Anywhere would have been better than having to deal with the hundreds of eyes just pinned to him in that moment.

Or so he had thought. Now though, standing in front of her front door, hand hovering inches away from the wood as he prepared to knock, he thought otherwise. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. She had all but admitted to stalking him for a year and half before hand. The fact she was maybe a bit more reserved now did not hide the fact that, once upon a time, he would have chosen to hide in his locker if he saw her coming down the hallway. And he wasn't just saying that either. Once, he had seen her coming his way and he had hidden in a friend's locker. It wasn't his fault that he got stuck though. The janitor had to break it open. Maybe hiding was a slight overreaction on his part, but could you blame him? That woman used to be crazy! And now...now he was preparing to take her on a date.

Why?

"This is crazy." Gray muttered to himself as he stepped down from her porch, reconsidering his decision and preparing to hop back into his car. He'd probably just make some excuse of getting held up. He liked her, sure he did, but he was not going to do this. Unfortunately for him, the universe had other plans and he felt someone grip the back of his shirt, yanking him back towards the door. "What the fuck?!" He screeched, but was quickly silenced when he saw who exactly he was facing, "Wait, Gajeel?"

He recognised the overly pierced teen that was staring down at him. He was one of the "delinquents" he shared a class or two with, the one who had barely shown up to anything until he started hanging around the small, bookish girl in their year. What was her name again? Levy? It was something like that anyway. But why was Gajeel standing in the doorway to Juvia's home? Gray worried he had taken a wrong turn somewhere, but this honestly didn't look like the type of neighbourhood he imagined the iron clad man living in, but then again, he didn't know anything about him.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Gray blurted out, ignoring his red eyed glare.

"I could ask you the same question." Gajeel sneered.

He looked about ready to punch him but, thankfully, they heard the voice of a frantic Juvia from inside the house and Gajeel stepped down from his defensive position. "Ah no! Don't hurt him!" She pushed past Gajeel and stood in between the two men, clinging onto Gray and pushing Gajeel back, glaring at him. Gray resisted the urge to push her away as well but eventually he gave in and let her grip onto his arm, mainly because he didn't want to cause such a scene out in public. It wouldn't be the best day for him if he accidentally made her cry here, with so many people probably ready to dash outside for a peak at what was going on.

"What the hell is he doin' here?" Gajeel barked but Juvia stopped him before he could get any closer to them.

"He's taking me out today," She gripped Gray's arm closer to her chest and looked up at him with wide eyes, "Aren't you?"

"I...err..I think?" He paused, "I mean, yeah. Yeah I am. Definitely."

"Yay!" Juvia squealed before a crash sounded from the room Gray presumed to be her living room, and a look of horror crossed her face. "Oh I forgot."

"Forgot what?" Gray could swear he heard shuffling around in there. Was there someone else here?

"I….couldn't stop them. I'm so sorry!"

"Stop who?" Gray questioned her again, this time with traces of worry lacing his tone as she slowly guided him to the living room, "Juvia!"

She opened the door and he immediately found four pairs of eyes staring at him, their gazes cold and hard as if they were already picking him apart in their mind. Some of them he recognised but that didn't make the sudden silence that had descended over them any less awkward.

"Wait, he's your date?! Juvia have you gone mad?!" Ah, that voice. How he loathed it. It was bad enough that he had to spend every hour of every day with that pink haired idiot but now he was in his date's living room of all places! Did the universe just hate him?

"You got a problem with that, flamebrain?"

"Have I got a problem with my cousin dating an cold bastard like you? Yeah actually, I do."

"Oh please, she could do worse."

"STOP IT!" Juvia stepped in between the two men again. She turned to face Natsu and Gajeel, who had followed them back into the room, "I can do whatever I want! I don't need your permission!" Gray would later come to learn that the only reason they were being so protective over her was because she had been adopted into their family, but that didn't mean he appreciated their cold greeting. He still wanted to beat the crap out of both of them, but he didn't. For her sake. Not that it was because he didn't want to hurt her feelings (or so he claims).

"But Juvia-"

"No! Leave it!"

"Aaaaggghh!" The bluenette couldn't turn in time to stop Gray being pinned to the wall by a drunken brunette. Cana Alberona: Juvia's best friend and the school's resident drunkard, because it totally wouldn't matter to anyone if he went around smelling of beer all day thanks to her. She was saying something to him but it was slurred and he couldn't make sense of it before she was pulled away from him by Wendy and a female, pink haired woman he didn't recognise. Cana quickly passed out on the couch after that and Juvia sent the rest of her "family" out of the room, sighing afterwards. The glare the pink haired woman was sending his way when they were leaving unnerved him a bit.

"Meredy! Be nice!" Juvia called after her but the pinkette ignore her. Thankfully, they were all finally gone and Gray turned to face his blue haired companion, a look of confusion crossing his face.

"What the hell was all that about?!"

"I couldn't stop them!" She apologised, "Cana told them all I had a date and they just...showed up. Well, Gajeel already lives here, but the others showed up out of the blue. Didn't even warn me! They wanted to 'make sure you were right for me'. Though I bet they were just wanting to stick their nose in my business-" She went on rambling for a few more minutes before Gray finally shushed her, grabbing her hand and leading her out of the house, ignoring the red tint her cheeks had suddenly taken and the flustered sounds she was making.

"They better not do that next time." He muttered before he could stop himself.

"Next time….?"

"I mean- GAH!" Juvia tackled Gray to the ground, pinning him to her driveway as she squealed happily and wrapped her arms around his neck in a bone crushing hug. He spluttered, gasping for air as he found her thick, blue locks brushing against his face. "Juvia!" He tried to yell, but eventually gave up, relaxing into her hug and even throwing his own arm around her. "I take it that's a yes…"

"What do you think?" She squealed happily again, planting a kiss on his cheek, completely oblivious to the faces staring at them through the windows of her home at what was to become a regular sight from that moment forward. "Let's just hope they don't mentally tear you apart next time." She giggled, though Gray was pretty sure that they would actually physically tear him apart next time.

Providing they got past Juvia first.


	4. Jingle Bells

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang decide to have a movie night in the run up to Christmas.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm in a Christmassy mood lately. Exams are slowly killing me so I figured why not write something happy to cheer me up?

"Alright, have we got everything?"

"Yep."

"Popcorn?"

"Right here."

"Blankets?"

"In the dryer. They'll be ready and warm by the time people show up."

"Over abundance of bad films?"

" _Yes._ For God's sake Juvia, stop worrying."

The bluenette bit her lip, a nervous gesture she had picked up, and tugged at the hem of the tacky jumper she had thrown on. It was a stark change from what she usually wore, with the bright red wool contrasting sharply against her dark blue hair. The picture of the reindeer on the front was crudely sewn on and the large pom pom nose seemed ridiculous to her but at the same time rather amusing. This was her second proper Chistmas with her friends and she was determined to make it fun for them- despite how uncomfortable this whole situation was making her.

"Oi Mira! You nearly done in there yet?!" Cana Alberona- one of Juvia's closest friends- yelled into the kitchen. She was met with a frustrated squawk that Juvia failed to make out, though it seemed to send Cana storming off into the smaller room in hot pursuit of the white haired chef. A few moments later Juvia heard the sound of a spoon slapping against the back of Cana's hand and the brunette let out some kind of half-surprised half-offended squeak. Juvia couldn't help the small chuckle that escaped her. "Oh go on, laugh it up Lockser!" Cana called, "Before I come in there and beat you with a spoon!"

"I didn't beat you!" Juvia could almost see Mira's playful scowl.

"Lies! I feel attacked! Betrayed! And in my own home to!" Ah Cana, ever the drama queen. Just why Juvia enjoyed having her as a roommate she did not know.

The sound of someone knocking on the door cut through the friendly atmosphere and Juvia felt her breath catch for a moment. She'd known these people for a while now, they were comfortable with each other. They were her friends, hell, they were her family! Why was she concerned with this evening going well? Group get to togethers always spiralled into something else, with something (or someone) usually ending up broken or damaged by the end of it. She didn't mind it, of course she didn't, but there was just that little ball of anxiety still growing in the back of her mind that just told her they wouldn't like this. Maybe they would finally see Juvia for the dull, miserable person that she was and they'd finally give up on her like she had expected them to do when they first met her. It's what any self respecting person would have done. But they hadn't and they all forced themselves into her life at once, filling it with more joy and laughter in these past two and half years than she has seen in a while. It was nice and it had been a while since Juvia had had thoughts like this, of self loathing and self doubt so bad she just wanted to curl up in her room and not come out for days, so their sudden resurgence was jarring. But she didn't think too much of it and brushed them off with a determined shake of her head before making her way to the door. Today was going to be a good day. She could just feel it.

The knocking sounded again right as she opened the door, only to be greeted with the smiling faces of her friends all crowded in the hallway. Of course they had all came here together. She wouldn't have expected anything less (though they must have given the doorman a terrible fright when the large group had filtered through the main doors to the building). They stood gleaming at her before she moved out of their way to let them into her apartment. There were the slightest flecks of snow on their heavy winter coats. It must be colder outside than she had originally thought.

"It smells amazing in here!" She heard Lucy coo as she slipped her coat off to hang it up by the door.

"And look at all these decorations! It's so pretty too!" Levy quickly followed as they gushed in the Christmas ambiance that Juvia (and also an initially reluctant Cana) had tried to painstakingly create. To say she was proud at their handiwork was an understatement. Their apartment looked like it could double as one of those over the top festive displays in shops. Red, green and gold streamers hung loosely across the ceiling and walls, mingling with chains of carefully crafted paper snowflakes. Two stockings hung from either corner of the TV stand in the centre of the living room with silver tinsel wrapped around the base and frame of the device. A festive throw blanket lay over the couch and red candles and holly berries were littered across the coffee table. Two reefs hung on the door and a large light that read _**MERRY CHRISTMAS**_ hung in the small space between the bookcases. A slightly smaller snowman one hung above it.

But the final piece, the item that tied the shed load of tinsel and lights and signs and festive things together, was the tree. It was small, nothing to gush about, and barely reached Juvia's shoulder, but it was decorated with such care and delicacy that it really shone out. A string of rainbow fairy lights had been carefully wrapped through the ever twisting branches, baubles of all shapes and sizes hung down and small candy canes had been hidden amongst the lush green leaves and red ribbons had been tied in bows at the end of some of the emptier looking branches. And to top it off, a simple star had been slid on the top. It was small but it was perfect. That was the way Juvia liked it.

"The boys'll be along later." She heard Lucy speak up again. The women had seemingly made themselves comfortable already and Juvia was relieved when she looked around to see that she wasn't the only one wearing one of those tacky Christmas jumpers. They all seemed to have adopted them for the day. "Natsu's gotta finish up something at the station and I'm pretty sure Gray stayed behind to help him. Gajeel said something to Levy about a last minute gift or something and Elfman is picking up something for Mira. Lisanna's gone with him so she won't be here till later either. Oh! I almost forgot. Elfman invited Evergreen so I'm guessing Laxus and the rest of his friends will probably be dropping by at some point. Is that okay?"

Normally the large crowd would have turned Juvia away. She would have said no and just let Mira and Cana take the reigns for the day, scurrying away to hide in some isolated corner until the coast was clear. But not today. Today she was feeling strangely confident. "Of course! The more the merrier!" At that, a smile lit up the blonde's face before she was dragging Juvia away to the kitchen to catch up with Mira and Cana. Looking back for a moment, Juvia saw the laughing faces of her friends and couldn't help the smile that ghosted her own lips. Erza was listening to some story that Levy was telling her, Wendy was admiring the decorations around her with a look of awe and Meredy, who had even gotten into the spirit of things by wearing a cringey jumper of her own, was flicking through the large stack of DVDs Juvia had left out for them to choose from.

Her worries for the day seemed to immediately leave her. She doesn't know why, but she just had a feeling that everything was going to turn out alright.

  
____________________________________________  


"So what are we watching?"

It was later than Juvia had originally planned by the time they all eventually settled down to watch the film. The girls had all settled in fairly easily, doing each other's make up or, in Levy's case, curling up in the big arm chair with a book. They took it in turns to go and help Mira in the kitchen and had settled into an easy game of truth or dare before the boys arrived, bringing with them the cold bite from outside. It was drowned out by their laughing, cheering and general excited mood. Somehow, they'd wrangled the girls into joining a heated game of twister before finally being convinced into having a popcorn war that somehow turned violent. One minute Lucy, Juvia and Erza were taking it in turns to try and throw popcorn at Natsu and Gray, seeing who could catch it first, and the next the boys were brawling. Juvia should have expected this to be honest. And whilst Lucy and Erza screamed at them and tried to separate them, the bluenette curled further into the couch and let out a content sigh. She turned her attention to Meredy and Wendy who were currently shifting through her unnecessarily large collection of movies.

"I haven't decided. You pick." Meredy frowned at that. When she spotted _The Nightmare Before Christmas_ tucked neatly into the pile, she raised a questioning eyebrow at Juvia- who simply shrugged and let an innocent smile dance across her lips. She wasn't afraid to admit that she loved watching that film at this time of year, even if it did look more like a Halloween movie at first glance. So Juvia may have gone a little overboard when she compiled the extensive collection of films currently sprawled across her living room floor, but she didn't care. The girls seemed to be having fun simply shifting through them. "Oh my God, _Elf_! I haven't seen this in ages!"

"What's this one?" Wendy held up a rather battered looking copy of what Juvia briefly recognised as _Scrooged_. She had forgotten she'd put that in the pile. It had been one of her favourite holiday films growing up.

" _Die Hard_?!" Meredy cackled, drawing the attention of a now intrigued Natsu. He pulled away from his fight with Gray and sprung over the back of the couch, nearly landing on Juvia in the process. She swatted at his feet to keep them off the upholstery but he paid her no heed as he snatched the DVD case from Meredy, a look of pure excitement on his face.

"Seriously? Me and Gajeel used to watch this all the time when we were kids!" At that his pierced cousin looked up from his perch at Levy's side and levelled a glare at the pink haired man. It wasn't as hard as it usually was though. Juvia only now realised that he to was wearing a ridiculous Christmas jumper and she had no doubt it was all Levy's doing. She made a mental note to thank her fellow bluenette later. She barely managed to stifle her chuckle but the larger man caught onto it and feigned offence at the action, igniting another laugh from her.

"Juvia you either have the worst taste in movies or the best Christmas line up I have ever seen. Where did you even find all of these?"

She chuckled, "I stole most of them from Cana." This earned her a laugh from the group. Even Erza sent her an amused glance. "So have you decided what we're watching?" At that Wendy dropped a pile on the coffee table. They'd actually created an order. She was impressed.

"Alright people!" Cana and Mira reemerged from the kitchen, carrying several bowls of treats and a tray of cups filled to the brim with frothy eggnog. "Mira's limited me to a jug of this stuff but you guys can have all you want." She chirped as they set everything down. Meredy took the first DVD from the pile and placed it in the DVD player when everyone began snuggling up. Juvia stayed on the couch, Natsu moved to the floor. Levy readjusted herself on the chair so that Gajeel could sit with her (though she'd end up on his lap at some point half way through the first movie). Wendy curled up on the opposite end of the couch and Cana dragged some bean bag chairs out of her room for her, Mira and Lisanna- the latter two choosing to share and practically forcing Elfman onto the other one. They may or may not have laughed at his suppressed squeak of surprise as he suddenly sunk further into the material every time he moved. Lucy obviously sat next to Natsu and Erza wrapped herself in a blanket before sitting to his other side, not so subtly creating a barrier between him and Gray. He'd idly thrown his arm around Juvia and she snuggled into his shoulder, sighing happily. This was nice.

"Okay, everyone ready?" Cana twirled the remote in her hand as she waited for everyone to answer her. They murmured a yes and she beamed, "Alright then! No more interruptions. Let's get this thing started!"

**Author's Note:**

> Well, I tried. Hope you liked it. This was one of the first chapters in my original fic that I was genuinely proud of. It isn't perfect but I really couldn't give a damn. I hope you liked it!


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